Life in the Navajo Nation: Eating Trail Mix = Symbol of Privilege?
June 15, 2010Daniel 1 Comment »
“We judge others according to their actions, but we judge ourselves according to our intentions.” – Unknown
We Duke students here in the Navajo Nation know that we’re blessed. We have electricity and running water in our homes (many people here rely on very unreliable solar energy and have to haul water from miles away), and we’ve not come close to experiencing poverty.
Since we’re here for two months to “serve the community,” it’s only natural that we might be viewed as privileged outsiders who are somewhat patronizing in our desire to “help.”
Case in point: a couple of days ago a woman saw me pouring a bag of trail mix into my mouth, and I later found out that she viewed this act as quintessential spoiled brat behavior.
She saw trail mix as a luxury food, and by pouring it into my mouth I was demonstrating just how entitled I felt to such extravagance– especially because I was pouring it instead of eating it out of my hand.
But I was actually pouring it because my hands were dirty and I didn’t want to contaminate the trail mix.
How true: we judge others according to their actions, but we judge ourselves according to our intentions.
I don’t blame her for judging me (although I was pretty shocked at first), because I recognize that we all have different paradigms through which we understand the world. In fact, this episode is a reminder for me to be more aware of how my behavior is perceived, and how my actions impact the relationships we have with the Navajo community.
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:43 am
[...] We’ve established meaningful friendships with our students and with others in the community, but we’ve also strained other relationships by our “privileged” and “proud” behavior. I think it’s unfortunate and unfair that some of our actions were perceived as such, but I also recognize that we judge others according to their actions, but we judge ourselves according to our intentions. [...]